Archive for silva

Gathering and analyzing data helps organizations make intelligent decisions about their IT infrastructure. You may need a data collection device (DCD) to collect BIG-IP data so you can manage that device with BIG-IQ. BIG-IQ is a platform that manages your devices and the services they deliver. Let’s look at how to discover and add a data collection device in BIG-IQ v5.2. You can add a new data collection device to your BIG-IQ cluster so that you can start managing it using the BIG-IP device data.

In addition to Event and Alert Log data, you can view and manage statistical data for your devices. From licensing to policies, traffic to security, you’ll see it all from a single pane of glass.

But you need a DCD to do that.

So, we start by logging in to a BIG-IQ.

Then, under the System tab, go to BIG-IQ Data Collection and under that, click BIG-IQ Data Collection Devices.

The current DCD screen shows no devices in this cluster. To add a DCD, click Add.

This brings us to the DCD Properties screen. For Management Address field, we add the management IP address of the BIG-IP/DCD we want to manage. We’ll then add the Admin username and password for the device. For Data Collection IP Address, we put the transport address which is usually the internal Self-IP address of the DCD and click Add.

The process can take a little while as the BIG-IQ authenticates with the BIG-IQ DCD and adds it to the BIG-IQ configuration. But once complete, you can see the devices has been added successfully.

Now you’ll notice that the DCD has been added but there are no Services at this point. To add Services, click Add Services.

In this instance, we’re managing a BIG-IP with multiple services including Access Policies so we’re going to activate the Access services. The listener address already has the management address of the DCD populated so we’ll simply click Activate. Once activated, you can see that it is Active.

When we go back to the Data Collection Devices page, we can see that the Access Services have been added and the activation worked.

Yup, you read that right. I did not pass the F5 Certified BIG-IP Administrator test I took while at F5 Agility 2017. And I’m not ashamed since it was a challenging test and I will be trying again.

Sure, I went through Eric Mitchell’s (F5er) comprehensive 201 Certification Study Guide along with the TMOS Administration Exam Blueprint. However, I probably should have taken more time ON a BIG-IP messing around…especially for tmsh commands…which is where, I believe, I got tripped up. This is key. Reading and memorizing commands along with some practicing can only get you so far. Doing it regularly is what’s needed. This is a key feature of the exams, particularly as you move up the exam expertise. The exams are designed to test real knowledge and experience, not if you can cram the night before. Pretty sure my errors came with tmsh and the UCS upgrade questions since I had limited experience in those areas.

Going in, I was a bit less confident (than from the 101) but also, less anxious. And about three-quarters through the exam I was feeling pretty good. I might pass this thing. However, the 201 Certification exam is not something to take lightly and is much more challenging than the 101. While the 101 has a 70% pass rate overall, the 201 hovers around 67% pass rate overall. 69% correct is a pass – I got 63%. I probably would have received my diploma from an educational institution but for Dr. Ken, a 63 is not a ‘pass’ with the F5 Certification Program. But that’s OK and why I like the program. At whatever level, a pass is a true achievement. You know your stuff.

At Agility 2017, the F5 Professional Certification team administered 227 exams. They had 245 scheduled so only 18 no-shows for whatever reason. When I took the exam on Monday, there was a constant flow of folks taking the exams and over the course of the event, I spoke to many who were either about to take one or had already completed theirs. No matter pass or fail, all were impressed with the caliber of the exams.

For the week, the disposition is as follows:

So you don’t have to work out the percentages:

Slight edge to the Pass group, congratulations…but still, you got a 50:50 shot.

Even though I failed, I’m glad to have taken it and know what I need to brush up on for my next attempt. For others that also failed, don’t be discouraged. While in Chicago, I was reminded of this Michael Jordan quote:

‘I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.’

In this Lightboard Lesson, I describe how F5 Silverline Cloud-based Platform can help mitigate DDoS and other application attacks both on-prem and in the cloud with the Hybrid Signaling iApp. Learn how both on-premises and the cloud can work together to create a composite defense against attacks.

In the early days of F5, BIG/IP was our original load balancer. Today, BIG-IP is a family of products covering software and hardware designed around application availability, access control, and security solutions.

In this Lightboard Lesson, Peter Silva lights up the various BIG-IP modules and what they do.

Applications living in the Cloud still need protection. Data breaches, compromised credentials, system vulnerabilities, DDoS attacks and shared resources can all pose a threat to your cloud infrastructure. The Verizon DBIR notes that web application attacks are the most likely vector for a data breach attack. While attacks on web applications account for only 8% of reported incidents, according to Verizon, they are responsible for over 40% of incidents that result in a data breach. A 2015 survey found that 15% of logins for business apps used by organizations had been breached by hackers.

One way to stay safe is using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) for your cloud deployments.

You have an existing web application deployed in Azure that you want to protect with BIG-IP ASM

You have an F5 license token for each instance of BIG-IP ASM you want to use

To get started, log into your Azure dashboard and on the left pane, toward the bottom, you’ll see Security Center and click it.

Next, you’ll want to click the Recommendations area within the Security Center Overview.

And from the list of recommendations, click Add a web application firewall.

A list of available web applications opens in a new pane. From the application list, select the application you want to secure.

And from there click Create New. You’ll get a list of available vendors’ WAFs and choose F5 Networks.

A new page with helpful links and information appears and at the bottom of the page, click Create.

First, select the number of machines you want to deploy – in this case we’re deploying two machines for redundancy and high availability. Review the host entry and then type a unique password for that field. When you click Pricing Tier, you can get info about sizing and pricing. When you are satisfied, at the bottom of that pane click OK.

Next, in the License token field, copy and paste your F5 license token. If you are only deploying one machine, you’ll only see one field. For the Security Blocking Level, you can choose Low, Medium or High. You can also click the icon for a brief description of each level. From the Application Type drop down, select the type of application you want to protect and click OK (at the bottom of that pane).

Once you see two check marks, click the Create button.

Azure then begins the process of the F5 WAF for your application. This process can take up to an hour. Click the little bell notification icon for the status of the deployment.

You’ll receive another notification when the deployment is complete.

After the WAF is successfully deployed, you’ll want to test the new F5 WAF and finalize the setup in Azure including changing the DNS records from the current server IP to the IP of the WAF.

When ready, click Security Center again and the Recommendations panel. This time we’ll click Finalize web application firewall setup.

And click your Web application.

Ensure your DNS settings are correct and check the I updated my DNS Settings box and when ready, click Restrict Traffic at the bottom of the pane.

Azure will give you a notification that it is finalizing the WAF configuration and settings, and you will get another notification when complete.

And when it is complete, your application will be secured with F5’s Web Application Firewall.

Leonardo Souza lives in the United Kingdom, with his partner, 5-year-old daughter, and a (very) recently newborn son. He’s Brazilian and lived in Portugal for quite a while. He then moved to UK about 5 years ago ‘because of the amazing weather,’ he jokes.

Leonardo started to work with computers when he was 18 years old (he’s not 18 anymore), so he’s worked with many technologies. Fast forward a bit (he’s not that old) and while working as a network engineer, he was working on a project to migrate applications from Alteon load balancers to F5 BIG-IP LTMs. He completed his LTM Essentials and LTM Advanced training during that time (2011) and with the migration project, he was impressed with BIG-IP.

He even applied for a job at F5 in 2012 and joined as a Network Support Engineer. That moved him from Portugal to UK, and has been doing F5 products exclusively ever since.

With all that, Leonardo is DevCentral’s Featured Member for May and we got a chance to talk with Leonardo about his life, work and scripting prowess.

DevCentral: You were an F5er from 2012-15 and continue to be a very active contributor in the DevCentral community. What keeps you involved?

Leonardo: I often say that 1 year in F5 support is equal to 5 years as a F5 customer.

While in F5 support, I had multiple technical challenges every day, and I would typically go to DevCentral to check iRules documentation and get ideas for uncommon cases. After I left F5, I started using DevCentral to stay up to date about what is going on in the F5 world by reading the DevCentral articles. Then I started to go there daily and answer some questions myself.

Short answer: to keep me updated, both about F5 news and my F5 knowledge.

DC: Tell us a little about the areas of BIG-IP expertise you have.

LS: Is difficult to know all F5 products, because some are for very specific networks/scenarios, but I know the common ones:

LS: First to clarify, the company recently changed names from NTT Com Security to NTT Security.

I work in professional services, doing projects that use F5 products. My daily work includes doing some pre-sales activities advising pre-sales team about the F5 products, doing projects, and finding solutions or writing scripts to automate some F5 tasks.

DC: Describe one of your biggest BIG-IP challenges and how DevCentral helped in that situation.

LS: I have been using DevCentral for many years, and iRules, to a point where it is part of my daily job. Flexibility is a major advantage for F5 and people ask all the time “Can you do this with an iRule?”

Recently, I was working in a project to upgrade many F5 devices. We had to perform an extensive inventory for each device which was taking about 3 days per device. I wrote a Python script using iControl SOAP to perform that task. (I still prefer bash script, but there is no iControl SOAP for bash)

It would take around 240 days to do that manually, and we did in around 3 days using the script.

DC: Finally, if you weren’t in technology – what would be your dream job? Or better, when you were a kid – what did you want to be when you grew up?

LS: I am doing the job I wanted since I was young and I can’t picture myself doing any other type of job.

DevCentral: You’ve been a very active contributor to the DevCentral community and wondered what keeps you involved?

Patrik: One of the best, and fun ways to learn new things is to take on problems, or discussions presented by fellow technicians. It forces you to continuously challenge what you think you know and keeps your knowledge up to date. In addition, when I need input, or help myself, DevCentral has so many brilliant and helpful members ready to take on whatever you throw at them.

DC: Tell us a little about the areas of BIG-IP expertise you have.

PJ: The first time I ran into a BIG-IP was just after I graduated from university. It was a 1000 series running BIG-IP v4. When I quit that job 6 years later I considered asking to bring it home with me, but somehow my girlfriend at the time was not as keen to the idea. Still don’t know why.

I’ve been working mostly with BIG-IP LTM and iControl, but recently I’ve started to dabble a bit with APM, GTM/DNS and ASM as well.

DC: You are a Network Security Specialist at Betsson. Can you describe your typical workday?

PJ: At Betsson you never know what’s going to happen when you step into the office. The gaming industry has very tough competition and getting comfortable as one of the bigger players around is not an option since rivals are always ready to take your place. This, combined with awesome colleagues, makes it a joy to step into the office every morning.

DC: Describe one of your biggest BIG-IP challenges and how DevCentral helped in that situation.

PJ: Being a multinational company with offices supporting multiple brands, one of the biggest challenges we have is knowledge sharing. Giving the developers the correct information when they need it is vital for an efficient application delivery. In order to provide this, we have used iRules to present troubleshooting information in the form of custom headers so developers can see which pool and member that responded to their request and the current status of all members. We also have a smarter version of the traditional sorry page which shows information about the failed pool and what’s being monitored. And then of course, BIG-IP Report.

All of these are using iRules and iControl and would not have been possible without the DevCentral API documentation and of course, my hero Joe Pruitt.

PJ: My blog is where I post ideas and projects that I have. There’s a BIG-IP APM + Google Authenticator guide, F5 Web UI augmentation script for version 11 and a few other things.

BIG-IP Report was born out of a need to show people the load balancing configuration in a simple manner without giving them access to the BIG-IP interface. After implementing it we have gone from developers asking us where things are, to instead them telling us about bad configuration. We also discovered that it is awesome for us as well, as we can get an overview of the configuration across multiple devices. Finding a specific VIP, or pool is so much easier when the information is in one place.

The term ‘Proxy’ is a contraction that comes from the middle English word procuracy, a legal term meaning to act on behalf of another. You may have heard of a proxy vote. Where you submit your choice and someone else votes the ballot on your behalf.

In networking and web traffic, a proxy is a device or server that acts on behalf of other devices. It sits between two entities and performs a service. Proxies are hardware or software solutions that sit between the client and the server and does something to requests and sometimes responses.

The first kind of proxy we’ll discuss is a half proxy. With a Half-Proxy, a client will connect to the proxy and the proxy will establish the session with the servers. The proxy will then respond back to the client with the information. After that initial connection is set up, the rest of the traffic with go right through the proxy to the back-end resources. The proxy may do things like L4 port switching, routing or NAT’ing but at this point it is not doing anything intelligent other than passing traffic.

Basically, the half-proxy sets up a call and then the client and server does their thing. Half-proxies are also good for Direct Server Return (DSR). For protocols like streaming protocols, you’ll have the initial set up but instead of going through the proxy for the rest of the connections, the server will bypass the proxy and go straight to the client. This is so you don’t waste resources on the proxy for something that can be done directly server to client.

A Full Proxy on the other hand, handles all the traffic. A full proxy creates a client connection along with a separate server connection with a little gap in the middle. The client connects to the proxy on one end and the proxy establishes a separate, independent connection to the server. This is bi-directionally on both sides. There is never any blending of connections from the client side to the server side – the connections are independent. This is what we mean when we say BIG-IP is a full proxy architecture.

The full proxy intelligence is in that OSI Gap. With a half-proxy, it is mostly client side traffic on the way in during a request and then does what it needs…with a full proxy you can manipulate, inspect, drop, do what you need to the traffic on both sides and in both directions. Whether a request or response, you can manipulate traffic on the client side request, the server side request, the server side response or client side response. You get a lot more power with a full proxy than you would with a half proxy.

With BIG-IP (a full proxy) on the server side it can be used as a reverse proxy. When clients make a request from the internet, they terminate on the reverse proxy sitting in front of application servers. Reverse proxies are good for traditional load balancing, optimization, server side caching, and security functionality. If you know certain clients or IP spaces are acceptable, you can whitelist them. Same with known malicious sources or bad ranges/clients, you can blacklist them. You can do it at the IP layer (L4) or you can go up the stack to Layer 7 and control an http/s request. Or add a BIG-IP ASM policy on there. As it inspects the protocol traffic if it sees some anomaly that is not native to the application like a SQL injection, you can block it.

On the client side, BIG-IP can also be a forward proxy. In this case, the client connects to the BIG-IP on an outbound request and the proxy acts on behalf of the client to the outside world. This is perfect for things like client side caching (grabbing a video and storing locally), filtering (blocking certain time-wasting sites or malicious content) along with privacy (masking internal resources) along with security.

You can also have a services layer, like an ICAP server, where you can pass traffic to an inspection engine prior to hitting the internet. You can manipulate client side traffic out to the internet, server side in from the internet, handle locally on the platform or or pass off to a third party services entity. A full proxy is your friend in an application delivery environment.